SPRINGFIELD – Dozens of trains carrying volatile crude oil roll through Illinois every day, many of which pass by schools. One derailment could lead to the sickness or death of students and teachers.

Most local communities already have a plan on how to handle these situations, but State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) is urging those plans to be communicated with the school districts.

“There are rail systems throughout the state and there are schools in proximity to those,” Morrison said. “This resolution encourages school districts to be participants in planning of emergency management.”

Senate Resolution 982, which passed the Senate Wednesday, urges local emergency response planning officials to partner with schools to provide information about safety threats related to the storage and transport of hazardous substances.

The resolution also calls on local emergency planning officials to develop and implement oil spill response plans to share with the school districts.

Even without derailing, spilling or exploding, being in close proximity to oil trains poses a serious health risk, with increasing rates in cancer, asthma and cardiovascular disease.

“There is a known health risk employees and residents face when being in close proximity to oil trains for a long amount of time, which is accelerated when a spill occurs,” Morrison said. “Schools should have a plan to deal with potential spills that could cause long-term injury, sickness or death.”

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Lake Forest) released the following statement after former Gov. Rod Blagojevich was commuted by President Donald Trump Tuesday:

“The commutation of Rod Blagojevich’s sentence by President Trump is yet another reason ethics reform must be passed at both the state and federal level. We must pass ethics reform during this legislative session to ensure we never have another case like Blagojevich’s. We must hold elected officials to the highest standards and work to end political corruption.”

SPRINGFIELD – Following a wave of corruption and indictments among state officials, Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) is calling on lawmakers to pass a comprehensive ethics package, including restrictions on revolving door lobbying, updates to the statement of economic interest forms and new provisions regarding conflict of interest.

“People should not be allowed to be a lawmaker one day and a lobbyist the next,” Morrison said. “Stopping lawmakers from auditioning for jobs with special interests while still in office will help end the glaring corruption taking place in Springfield.”

Since joining the Illinois Senate in 2013, Morrison has introduced bills each session to block the lawmaker-to-lobbyist revolving door. Those measures would prohibit lawmakers who resign from their post from taking jobs as Illinois lobbyists for a certain amount of time after they retire. However, they never made it through the legislature.

“I have tried to pass comprehensive revolving door policies for years, but it wasn’t seen as a high priority by all members of the General Assembly, despite the corruption happening around them,” Morrison said. “I am pleased Gov. JB Pritzker called on legislators to pass a revolving door provision during his State of the State address Wednesday.”

Morrison is a co-sponsor of Senate Bill 2463, which prohibits statewide elective officials, members of the General Assembly and administrative heads of state agencies from lobbying within two years of termination of service.

“A majority of states already have an anti-revolving door policy, and it’s time for Illinois to get with the times,” Morrison said. “There must be a fine line between who is a government official and who works for a special interest group.”

Illinois is just one of 13 states that does not have a revolving door policy. 

During the legislative session, Morrison is lead sponsor of two other ethics-related bill – Senate Bill 2506 and Senate Bill 1827.

Senate Bill 1827 would create changes to the statement of economic interest form that must be completed by a number of state employees, candidates running for office and public officials to ensure they do not have financial ties to subjects they are working on.

Additionally, SB 2506 requires members of the General Assembly to disclose if they have conflicts of interest on measures they are taking official action on – which includes voting for a bill.

SPRINGFIELD – During the past year, nearly 200 Illinoisans have become ill and five have died from lung injuries stemming from e-cigarettes. State Senator Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) has called on both lawmakers and constitutional officers to regulate, or possibly even ban, the use of these harmful products.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Y. Raoul took action Thursday by filing a lawsuit in the Cook County Circuit Court against California-based JUUL Labs, Inc. The lawsuit accuses the vaping company of marketing its products to min

ors and deceptively advertising the products as “smoking cessation devices.” It calls on the courts to permanently ban the vaping powerhouse from engaging in unfair and deceptive practices.

Senator Morrison released the following statement:

“I have spent the past year working to ban vapes that are intentionally being marketed to children. I commend Attorney General Raoul for taking a step toward addressing the public health epidemic surrounding these harmful products. JUUL – and other similar companies – do not have FDA approval to market the vapes as smoking cessation products and should be held accountable for causing harm to minors through e-cigarettes and other addictive tobacco products.”